Bastien Hery treated to town centre tour

Bastien Hery joined the Rochdale Pioneers Museum Manager, Jennifer Broadbent for a tour and brief history of co-operation

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Rochdale AFC player Bastien Hery was given a whistle-stop tour of Rochdale town centre this week and made the day for young fans when he popped into the library at Number One Riverside.

The 22-year-old midfielder was keen to show his appreciation of the town after being misquoted in the national media and readily accepted an invitation from the Council to come and visit.

The young Frenchman was shown some of the town’s highlights and told about the on-going plans for regeneration by Councillor Janet Emsley, Cabinet Member for Community Culture and Tourism.

She said: “He is a lovely lad. He was horrified to have been misquoted so badly and took a great interest in the town and the buildings and our plans for the future. It was lovely for him to come along and he is obviously committed to the club and the town.”

Bastien’s tour included the Grade I listed town hall, scene of Rochdale FC’s victory reception when they got promoted to League One last year. He said: “That was a very happy occasion in a wonderful building.”

This time a regular tea-dance was in full swing and while he could not be persuaded to join in he was also given a brief history of the magnificent rooms and ornate stained glass windows by Dorothy Johnstone.

He strolled across town passed the new bus interchange and the Metrolink and was updated on plans for re-opening the river and for the new shopping centre development.

From the award-winning Number One Riverside he headed to Rochdale Sixth Form College – officially the best in the country for adding value to students learning for the second year running.

Deputy Principal Ruth Szolkowska showed him round the brand new facility with its roof top coffee shop, state of the art labs and inspiring art rooms and he chatted with one of the students who has been offered a place at Oxford to read French.

Bastien was impressed by the facilities and the people and said: “It must be a wonderful place to study.”

Last stop was the Pioneer Museum where a group of school pupils from Middleton were just completing their educational visit. Bastien was given a brief history of the Pioneer movement and understood the significance of Rochdale being the birthplace of the Co-operative.

He said: “I was very moved by the Museum. That every co-op in the world started from this point in this very building. It is very interesting to see. I have really enjoyed seeing the buildings, both the old and the new, they are very impressive. And learning about the history of the town.

“I would never say anything bad about it, before last week I did not even know what the word dump meant. Now I have been again and seen more I am proud to be associated with the town.”